great science books - join the discussion

I noticed Discover's 25 Greatest Science Books of All-Time on the newsstand, and checked it out online.
I only got as far as the first page.  Voyage of the Beagle is a great book, and I highly recommend it (you can read my review).  The rest, are they nuts?  No general reader is going to slog through Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, and even if they did, I don't think they would take much away.  In fact, most scientists would have a struggle to get through these.  The Discover list appears to be "most scientifically important / influential books", not "here are some good science books that you might actually want to read".

Confessions of a Science Librarian has pointers in Best and worst science books that lead to further discussions.

I do disagree with a couple books on the "worst" list (well, the only two books on that list I have read):

Drexler, Eric, Engines of Creation

Edelman, Gerald, Bright Air, Brilliant Fire

These books are both flawed to be sure, but I found them very interesting.  Well, ok, the second book consistently puts me to sleep, but the parts I manage to read before going unconscious are good.